Chervil

Sun

Partial shade, especially afternoon shade in warm climates; full sun is suitable in cool weather.

Water

Keep the root zone evenly moist but not waterlogged; drought quickly encourages flowering.

Soil

Fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil; avoid ground that dries out rapidly.

Height

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m)

Spread

0.5-1 ft (0.15-0.3 m)

Flowers

Small white flowers in loose umbels in late spring and summer, or earlier if stressed by heat or drought.

Foliage

Soft, bright green, finely divided leaves with a mild anise scent when crushed.

Growth

Fast in cool, moist conditions.

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Low allergen
• Fragrant
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Needs looking after

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   0.5 ft (0.15 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.5 ft (0.45 m)

   full size

Full size in one season.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Growth rate

Fast

• Water before the soil dries out, directing water to the base of the plants.
• Thin seedlings to about 6 in (15 cm) apart so leaves have room to develop.
• Mix a little mature compost into the soil before sowing; routine feeding is rarely needed.
• Apply a thin mulch around established plants to keep roots cool and conserve moisture.
• Provide afternoon shade as the weather warms.

Pruning. Snip outer leaves regularly while plants are young, leaving the central growing point intact. Remove emerging flower stems to extend leaf picking briefly, but replace plants once they bolt strongly.

Begin picking when plants are about 4-6 in (10-15 cm) tall, usually six to eight weeks after sowing in suitable weather. Snip fresh outer leaves before flowering, taking only part of each plant at a time. Use promptly and add near the end of cooking to preserve the flavour.

Early spring

Direct-sow seed as soon as the soil is workable, covering it lightly and keeping the seedbed moist.

Mid-spring

Thin seedlings and begin small repeat sowings every two to three weeks for a steady supply.

Late spring

Harvest outer leaves regularly and remove the first flower stems.

Summer

Keep remaining plants shaded and watered; pause sowing during hot weather.

Late summer

Resume sowing as temperatures cool for an autumn crop.

Autumn

In mild climates, sow for cool-season harvesting; in colder areas, protect existing plants with a cloche to extend picking.

• Edge cool-season vegetable beds with its fine-textured edible foliage.
• Grow in containers near the kitchen where there is morning sun and afternoon shade.
• Use between lettuces and other leafy crops in a partly shaded potager.
• Let a few plants flower among herbs to add small white umbels and attract beneficial insects.

Garden styles it suits: Potager (kitchen garden), Herb parterre, Cottage garden, Edible landscape, Small-space and Sensory garden.

Plant it with: Lettuce, Spinach, Radishes, Parsley, Chives and Coriander.

Wildlife: The small flowers provide accessible nectar and pollen for hoverflies, small bees and other insects. Hoverfly larvae can help reduce aphids.

• Premature flowering: heat, drought and long days shorten the harvest; sow in cool weather, provide afternoon shade and keep soil moist.
• Slugs and snails: protect young seedlings with barriers or wildlife-conscious controls and remove nearby hiding places.
• Aphids: wash colonies off tender shoots with water and encourage predators by allowing some nearby herbs to flower.
• Poor germination: use fresh seed, sow directly and keep the surface moist; germination becomes unreliable in hot soil.

Culinary chervil is not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses; its leaves are edible. Do not collect wild plants on appearance alone, because highly poisonous members of the carrot family can look similar.

• Flat-leaf parsley (Petroselinum crispum)

  Parsley has broader, coarser leaf segments and a stronger parsley scent; chervil has finer, softer foliage with a mild anise scent.

• Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)

  Cow parsley becomes much taller and coarser, with larger fern-like leaves and broad sprays of white flowers. Young plants can be difficult to distinguish, so do not harvest uncertain wild seedlings.

• Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum)

  Mature poison hemlock is much taller, with smooth hollow stems commonly marked by purple blotches. Young plants may lack obvious markings;

The name chervil came through Old English and Latin cerefolium, ultimately from the Greek name chairephyllon.

Propagation. Grow from seed sown directly where it will mature; its taproot makes transplanting unreliable. Use fresh seed, cover lightly and keep moist. It may self-seed if allowed to flower and ripen seed.

Accepted botanical name

Anthriscus cerefolium

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Canada, Greenland and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Albania, Austria, Baleares, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Krym, North Caucasus, Poland and Romania.

Measured

Soil pH 7 to 7.5. Average height 40 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.